Borisov A.M. Civil society in Russia: development and consolidation issues in format of public civil service

Abstract: The subject of this article is the forms and methods of consolidation of public forces based on citizens’ pro-active attitude. This approach corresponds to the objectives of Russia’s strategic development and the task to overcome the state of underdevelopment of the formal channels of public activity mobilization that was outlined in the Final report on the results of the expertise on the current challenges of Russia’s social and economic strategy until 2020 known as Strategy-2020: New Growth Model – New Social Policy. The novelty of the study is in how the author formulates questions and discloses certain aspects of the social and political life of the Russian society, closely related to the youth demographics, characterization of the political mass conscience, evaluation of the class divide. The article is part of larger study focused on the current issues how to form a theoretical model for the politically active societal forces and to find corresponding models with innovative contents. The author methodologically rejects certain principles of the well-known concept of the civil society and uses the methods of critical analysis and hypothetical and didactic approach; the author then comes to the conclusion that the study of current forms of public activity enables him to confirm the sustainability of the top-down approach of state governance subjects to initiation of civil activity within the constraints of scarce state financing and grants from multiple funding sources. The novelty of this analysis lies in the presentation of civil public service model that is related to potential opportunities for capacity building of civil initiatives through the creation of centers for the citizens’ civil and political activities, including those based on social and economic assets of joint stock companies (employee-owned enterprises) with development of the civil duty relations on the level of local governance. A civil society organization that has its own social and material base corresponds to a greater degree to the principles of society’s independence from the state structures and enhancement of links between the sovereign nation and the state.

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